Monday, 17 March 2014

Nursery - 2 Months In

We are coming up to two months since Leo started attending nursery one day a week. He has gone from being incredibly excited about the whole experience to not wanting to go at all. I guess the excitement of the experience has worn off and it has become a routine that he would rather not participate in, and this is why we have decided to put Leo in a extra session during the week in a hope that he will settle in.

Leo will be now attending nursery on a Monday morning and a Friday afternoon, so that he can get used to being there on a more regular basis so that when he gets his nursery funding in September, it won't be such a big shock to the system.. Or that is the hope anyway.

Leo recognizes the way to nursery, and spent the whole car journey today telling Granny 'no school, no school!' until he got there and realised that there was no point protesting. He even told me today that his ear hurts, he is cottening on to how being ill means he won't have to go. I had to make sure that Granny warned the nursery staff that he may try to pull a fast one! Once Leo is at nursery and Granny has gone, he settles in and has fun, but as soon as Granny returns to get him, the water works start again. The most important thing is that he is happy while he is there, and for the most part he is. It's a lovely nursery and the ladies have taken him firmly under their wing, and that is why they have offered Leo this extra session a week now it has become available. They hope that it will help him ease into nursery life that little bit faster.

I think this extra session will certainly help Leo, and the fact it falls on a Friday which is one of my day's off from work may be a good combination. At the moment for the Monday session, I drop Leo at Granny's before heading off to work, and Granny takes Leo to nursery. On a Friday I will get to take Leo to nursery and I will be the one who gets to pick him up. I think this will do us both the world of good, as I have felt like I am missing out on being a parent at the school gates. I don't get to see Leo within the nursery environment and I don't get to see how he is interacting with the other children, I don't even know if he has made any friends. It isn't just going to help Leo settle in faster, it is going to let me see a side to Leo's life that often just passes me by. I will get to be the first person to see how he has got on that day, I will see the where he hangs his coat and see the arts and crafts that he makes during his sessions.

I have been talking to Leo about the extra nursery session and at the moment he is adamant that it's not happening, but I think once it becomes more of a regular thing he will begin to love it all again. After all persistence and perseverance is the key.

Leo starting nursery has highlighted to me that I miss out on some of the simplest pleasures that other parents may often take for granted. Other parents, other Mum's get to be the ones to take their little ones to nursery and school, but I don't have this luxury on a daily basis. It has got me thinking 2 years ahead to when my growing boy starts school, and I know that this is something that I am going to want to be a part of. I want to be the one to take him to school and pick him up at the end of the day. I want to be the one who he tells all about his day and the things that he has done.

This may mean I re-jig my working day around, after all I wouldn't need to be part time if Leo is in full time education.

I have seen such a change in Leo since he started nursery, some of the changes have to be down to the the nursery and I can tell that this extra session is going to continue to spur him on wards and upwards.